Validation of the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index: Do Computing Ethics Courses Make a Difference?

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Padiyath, Aadarsh, Fiesler, Casey, Guzdial, Mark, Ericson, Barbara
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Padiyath, Aadarsh
Fiesler, Casey
Guzdial, Mark
Ericson, Barbara
author_facet Padiyath, Aadarsh
Fiesler, Casey
Guzdial, Mark
Ericson, Barbara
contents Computing ethics education aims to develop students' critical reflection and agency. We need validated ways to measure whether our efforts succeed. Through two survey administrations (N=474, N=464) with computing students and professionals, we provide evidence for the validity of the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index. Our psychometric analyses demonstrate distinct dimensions of ethical development and show strong reliability and construct validity. Participants who completed computing ethics courses showed higher scores in some dimensions of ethical reflection and agency, but they also exhibited stronger techno-solutionist beliefs, highlighting a challenge in current pedagogy. This validated instrument enables systematic measurement of how computing students develop critical consciousness, allowing educators to better understand how to prepare computing professionals to tackle ethical challenges in their work.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_06193
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Validation of the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index: Do Computing Ethics Courses Make a Difference?
Padiyath, Aadarsh
Fiesler, Casey
Guzdial, Mark
Ericson, Barbara
Computers and Society
Computing ethics education aims to develop students' critical reflection and agency. We need validated ways to measure whether our efforts succeed. Through two survey administrations (N=474, N=464) with computing students and professionals, we provide evidence for the validity of the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index. Our psychometric analyses demonstrate distinct dimensions of ethical development and show strong reliability and construct validity. Participants who completed computing ethics courses showed higher scores in some dimensions of ethical reflection and agency, but they also exhibited stronger techno-solutionist beliefs, highlighting a challenge in current pedagogy. This validated instrument enables systematic measurement of how computing students develop critical consciousness, allowing educators to better understand how to prepare computing professionals to tackle ethical challenges in their work.
title Validation of the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index: Do Computing Ethics Courses Make a Difference?
topic Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.06193